---
title: O.C.G.A. § 19-13-21. Powers and duties of council.
collection: code
id: 19-13-21
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 19-13-21 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/19-13-21
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/19-13-21.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/19-13-21/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t18-t19-(v16)-2022-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=b0848ebd_0#page=1296
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/code/19-13.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/code/19-13-20.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/code/19-13-22.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md
version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: DOMESTIC RELATIONS / FAMILY VIOLENCE / FAMILY VIOLENCE SHELTERS
---

# O.C.G.A. § 19-13-21. Powers and duties of council.

(a) It shall be the duty of the council:

(1) To establish minimum standards for an approved family violence shelter to enable such shelter to receive state funds;

(2) To receive applications for the development and establishment of family violence shelters;

(3) To approve or reject each application within 60 days of receipt of the application;

(4) To distribute funds to an approved shelter as funds become available;

(5) To fund other family violence programs as funds become available, provided that such programs meet standards established by the council; and

(6) To evaluate annually each family violence shelter for compliance with the minimum standards.

(b) Without using designated shelter funds, the council may:

(1) Formulate and conduct a research and evaluation program on family violence and cooperate with and assist and participate in programs of other properly qualified agencies, including any agency of the federal government, schools of medicine, hospitals, and clinics, in planning and conducting research on the prevention of family violence and the care, treatment, and rehabilitation of persons engaged in or subject to family violence;

(2) Serve as a clearing-house for information relating to family violence;

(3) Carry on educational programs on family violence for the benefit of the general public, persons engaged in or subject to family violence, professional persons, or others who care for or may be engaged in the care and treatment of persons engaged in or subject to family violence; and

(4) Enlist the assistance of public and voluntary health, education, welfare, and rehabilitation agencies in a concerted effort to prevent family violence and to treat persons engaged in or subject to family violence.

## History

Ga. L. 1981, p. 663, § 2; Ga. L. 1983, p. 521, § 2; Ga. L. 1988, p. 1287, § 2; Ga. L. 1996, p. 819, § 2; Ga. L. 2015, p. 890, § 10/HB 263.

## Code Commission Notes

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1988, “clearing-house” was substituted for “clearinghouse” in paragraph (b)(2).

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1996, “shelter” was substituted for “shelters” twice in paragraph (a)(1).

## Law Reviews

For article citing developments in Georgia juvenile court practice and procedure from mid-1980 through mid-1981, see 33 Mercer L. Rev. 167 (1981).